Sveti Elio

Who they were

Elio was a deacon of Capodistria (Koper), venerated there since before the 1400s. According to local tradition he was born at Costabona in the diocese of Capodistria in the later 1st century, a disciple of Saint Ermagora of Aquileia and deacon under Nazario, the first bishop of Capodistria. He is said to have built a church in honour of the Virgin and to have died on 18 July, the day of his feast.

Nothing certain is known about him: the earliest source is a 16th-century panegyric that gives no real information about his life, and later local writers filled the gaps with unfounded guesses about his birthplace and family. Near the end of the 17th century his remains were placed under an altar in the crypt of Capodistria cathedral. He is invoked against headaches.

The miracles

There was never a formal cause: he has been honoured as a saint since before the Church's formal processes began.

Why that counted as sanctity

Deacon of Capodistria honoured as a saint since before the 15th century; feast 18 July.

The cause